The Rolling Stones – The Paris Rehearsals (Dog N Cat DAC-114)

Disc 1 (78:53): Do You Think I Really Care, When The Whip Comes Down, A Different Kind, I Love Ladies, Lies, Lies, The Way She Held Me Tight, I Need You, Munich Reggae, Fiji Jim, Slave, Let’s Do It Right, Worried About You, Everything Is Turning To Gold

The Paris Rehearsals (Eva Records 4B 39109 A/B/C/D) contains Rolling Stones outtakes dating from both Black & Blue and Some Girls sessions between 1975 to 1978. The LP was first released in 1982 and much of this material was originally pressed onto CD by Vigotone on Paris Outtakes Vol. 1 (VT-CD 11) and Paris Outtakes Vol. 2 (VT-CD 12).

Dog N Cat, in their current obsession in giving silver releases to the old vinyl outtakes, duplicates the Eva release along with many bonus tracks from the same era to round out the discs. The sound quality is very good. The 1975 material, which makes up much of the first disc, is a significant improvement over older releases and is the real value of this particular release.

“Do You Really Think I Care” dates from 1978 is quite popular, appearing on several of these releases. This is the common “pedal steel” version, not the second “telecaster” version. But following this is the first take of “When The Whip Comes Down” from the 1977 Some Girls recording sessions. Very similar to the final version, this take lacks backing vocals and is about double the length with lengthy instrumental passages.

“A Different Kind” is also from the 1977 sessions. It’s a mid-paced country & western style ballad which never got passed this early stage in development. “I Love Ladies” makes another appearance on a DAC outtake collection. This dates from the spring 1975 rehearsals in Munich when the Stones were auditioning guitarists to replace Mick Taylor. Jeff Beck is rumored to be on this track even though there is no evidence to suggest that. The guitar solo in the middle sounds nothing like Beck and everything like Keith Richards.

“The Way She Held Me Tight” (aka “Misty Roads”) is an unreleased song from the 1978 sessions in Paris. It exists only in this take which sounds like an amateur recorded rehearsal session. It sounds unlike much of the Stones’ catalogue with a funky piano, fuzzy guitar (with strange country & western interludes) and Jagger’s lazy, nonchalant delivery of the lyrics. “I Need You” is another unreleased song from 1978. Like the other unreleased songs “Misty Roads” and “I Can’t Help It” it sounds like a rehearsal than a polished outtake. It is an interesting piano driven mid-tempo rocker with Keith and Mick trading vocals.

“Munich Reggae” is a Black & Blue outtake recorded in in the March, 1975 Musicland sessions. The actual tune is a basic reggae rhythm with very little development in the melody. Wayne Perkins, who was working with the band in the interim between Mick Taylor and Ron Wood, can be heard playing.

“Fiji Jim” (aka “Fiji Gin” and “Come Bring Your Electric Guitar”) dates from 1978 and exists in three different versions. This version is the early take with the count-in and the loud lead guitar.

The next three, “Slave,” “Do It Right” and “Worried About You,” date from the January to February 1975 sessions in Holland, all in excellent sound quality. “Slave” is a nine-minute instrumental version of the track that would appear in 1981 on Tattoo You. This recording is slightly fuzzy but extremely heavy, especially during the breaks in the melody, and Billy Preston makes is presence felt with very creative keyboard lines weaving among Richards guitar melody.

“Let’s Do It Right” is a fun funk piece. It is similar to “Fingerprint File” (it wouldn’t be surprising to learn the latter was born from the former) but much tighter and energetic. The first disc ends with “Everything Is Turning To Gold,” a bonus track not included on the original vinyl.

The second disc begins with the ubiquitous “Munich Hilton,” an instrumental outtake from the 1977 Some Girls sessions which seems to appear on every Stones outtake collection. This is the second take which has more guitar and hi-hat cymbals in the mix, and is followed by a very long take of “Miss You.” The lyrics are similar to the final version. It lacks both harmonica and saxophone, and the guitars and keyboards are much more prominent in the mix.

Both “Respectable” and “Far Away Eyes” are in an early stage of their development. Both are presented in their first takes with rough lyrics and no backing vocals.

The next five tracks, “It Won’t Be Long,” “Hang Fire,” “Hang Fire,” “Golden Caddy” and “Light Up” originte from the early 1978 sessions for Some Girls. “It Won’t Be Long” was recorded at a rehearsal session and is a simple rhythm exersize with keyboards, drums, bass, and primitive lyrics. It’s a curious piece but nothing too interesting.

DAC include the first take of “Golden Caddy,” a short, almost two minute long, slow tempo ballad. “Light Up” comes from 1978 and is a five minute mid-tempo instrumental with a repetitive riff that grows old very fast. There is another guitar playing solos but it is buried so far down in the mix it is practically inaudible.

Four of the final five tracks come from the 8-track edition of Some Girls released in June 1978. These four songs differ from their counterparts on the LP. “Miss You” is a bit longer and contains additional lyrics. “Far Away Eyes” is the single edit, shorter than the LP by about thirty seconds.

“Beast Of Burden” is slightly longer than the LP counterpart. The additional duration comes from extra measures on the instrumental passages before the bridge. “Shattered” is slightly short than the LP and is the same as the promo edit. Among these edits is the rare promo mix of “Before They Make Me Run” which has a different vocal performance than the Some Girls recording.

Like other outtake releases, Dog N Cat replicate the vinyl artwork on both front and back of the front jewel case insert. With generous filler to pad out the discs, the label tries to offer the collector good value. Nothing on here is new, but the older tracks from the Black & Blue era show an improvement in sound quality, but really isn’t enough incentive to seek this out if you have this material already.